


Burnout

by ryanthepowerbottomguy



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Fake AH Crew, First Kiss, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Superpowers, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 04:11:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12100443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryanthepowerbottomguy/pseuds/ryanthepowerbottomguy
Summary: Jeremy was gone.They didn’t even have a body to bury; he’d been burned away completely. There hadn’t even been ash.





	Burnout

Jeremy was gone.

Ryan trudged into the penthouse behind the others, feet carrying him automatically past them all. Someone tried to reach out to him, but he flinched away and kept walking. His mask fell from his numb fingers and he left it where it landed.

They didn’t even have a body to bury; he’d been burned away completely. There hadn’t even been ash.

Ryan found himself standing the doorway of Jeremy’s room instead of his own, and he couldn’t make himself leave. He closed the door behind himself and slid to the floor next to the bed, knees curled up to his chest.

Everything had been going so well, but with the revelation of the Fakes’ superhuman abilities, the LSPD had tripled the strength of their arsenal. Ryan had no idea what the rocket was that they launched at the car Jeremy had been hiding behind, but it had produced an explosion so big and bright that Ryan’s eyes still stung, and the ensuing fire managed to catch on the nearest stone building for several minutes before it petered out.

Even with all their powers, none of them could bring back someone from that. Especially not the single human of their group.

Later, Ryan will scream at Geoff until he’s hoarse for letting a human like Jeremy participate in heists. No matter how skilled he was, he hadn’t been able to keep up with what their enemies used against them, and Geoff should have known that.  _Ryan_ should have known that too, but he let himself care even when he shouldn’t have.

He leaned his forehead against his knees and let out a sob. He meant to stop it there, but soon he was hiccuping and crying, barely able to catch a breath, further staining his blood- and ash-soaked jeans with tears.

By the time the sobs slowed, it was dark and he had worn himself out. The rest of the penthouse was silent, so different from the night after a normal heist.

None of the others had come to comfort him, and he was thankful for it. He wouldn’t have known how to explain to them that they had assumed too much, that whatever they saw in his and Jeremy’s relationship was entirely one-sided on Ryan’s end. It hurt to even think about.

He managed to sleep, somehow, curled up in a ball next to Jeremy’s bed, the smell of him that lingered in the room blanketing him enough to bring him some measure of comfort.

He woke the next morning to a hand on his shoulder and he managed not to jump out of his skin until he heard Jeremy’s voice.

Ryan blinked his eyes open to stare. There was Jeremy, the morning light haloing him enough to make Ryan’s sore eyes ache, smiling gently down at Ryan.

“Buddy? You okay?”

It felt real. It felt all too real.

Jeremy must have seen the incredulity in his face, because he sat down next to Ryan, his arm wrapping around Ryan’s shoulders as if he knew that Ryan needed the contact. Which was ridiculous. It was  _Jeremy_ that had died, not him.

Died and come back, apparently.

“You didn’t notice the explosion?” Jeremy asked. “Aw, I thought it looked cool. Burning out like that is a little cliche, I guess, but it looks good.”

Ryan could only stare.

“Like a phoenix,” he finally managed. Rising up from the ashes of the dead.

Jeremy laughed. God, Ryan had thought he would never hear that laugh again. “Yeah, I guess. Never thought about it quite that way.”

Something in Jeremy’s face shifted as he looked at Ryan. “You look awful, dude. Did you sleep on the floor here all night?”

Ryan shrugged. Looked away. Jeremy’s arm across his shoulders burned. “I watched you  _die_ , Jeremy.”

Jeremy let out a quiet little  _oh_. As if he thought Ryan wouldn’t have been affected by that. Ryan sucked in a shaky breath; even with Jeremy warm and real and alive next to him, he couldn’t quite banish watching Jeremy explode into flame.

After a moment, Ryan leaned into Jeremy’s side. He was comfortable, soft. And Ryan knew his battle buddy would never deny him this comfort.

He half-felt Jeremy press his lips to the top of his head, and Ryan shut his eyes and pretended it was intentional. Even now, with Jeremy miraculously returned from the dead, he couldn’t make himself say it. Chickenshit.

“Do the others know?” he asked instead, wincing because even though he tried to murmur the words, they came out far too loud for the silence that had fallen over them.

“Yeah,” Jeremy replied. “Surprised you didn’t hear the shouting earlier.”

He’d been asleep, dreaming of a world in which yesterday had never happened. He hadn’t wanted to wake up. He shrugged.

They lapsed into silence again, and Ryan let himself sag against Jeremy. This was good. This was enough.

He jolted when Jeremy reached out to take his hand between both of Jeremy’s own. Jeremy’s hands were calloused from guns and boxing tape and guitars, and Ryan shivered as a rough thumb stroked across the back of his hand.

“You know you can tell me anything, right Ry?” Jeremy murmured. “Something’s bothering you. I think we both know it. The others… the others were over the fuckin moon to see me alive again, but you look like you thought the world had ended.”

“It might as well have,” Ryan blurted out before he could stop himself, and flinched. He hadn’t wanted to say that at all. “I watched  _you_ die, Jeremy.”

“Oh,” Jeremy murmured, finally understanding. “Oh,  _Ryan_.”

“That’s my name,” Ryan said, bracing for Jeremy to pull away, for him to say something awful, for him to run out and slam the door behind him.

Jeremy did none of those things. Instead, he cupped Ryan’s cheek with one hand and turned him so that they were facing. “Hey, open your eyes.”

Ryan did, unable to ever resist any request from Jeremy. Jeremy’s face was full of understanding — and there was a hint of pain, too, as if he hurt just thinking about what Ryan had gone through yesterday.

“Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong here,” Jeremy said slowly, “but I’m pretty sure I’m not. Can I kiss you?”

Ryan froze, unable to even blink as Jeremy’s question processed. Not even in a million years would be have expected that.

Just as Jeremy began to pull away, Ryan found his voice. “Yes, yes of course you can. I want you to. Please.”

There were no fireworks when Jeremy’s lips touched Ryan’s, but a warmth bloomed in his chest that felt like  _home_. And he was pretty sure, as Jeremy pulled a fraction of an inch away to kiss the corner of Ryan’s smile, that Jeremy felt the same way.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [ryanthepowerbottomguy](http://ryanthepowerbottomguy.tumblr.com) over on tumblr! come say hi!


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